Preferences for mates that possess genes dissimilar to one's own at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), a polymorphic group of loci associated with the immune system, have been found in mice, birds, fish, and humans. These preferences may help individuals choose genetically compatible mates and may adaptively function to prevent inbreeding or to increase heterozygosity and thereby immun...

Abstract Small and isolated populations face several intrinsic risks, such as genetic drift, inbreeding depression reduced gene flow, patterns of diversity differentiation have become an important focus conservation genetics research. The golden snub-nosed monkey Rhinopithecus roxellana, endangered species endemic to China, has experienced rapid reduction in population size severe fragmentation...

Since the first determination of structure of the HLA-A2 complex, >200 MHC/peptide structures have been recorded, whereas the available T cell receptor (TCR)/peptide/MHC complex structures now are <20. Among these structures, only six are TCR/peptide/MHC Class II (MHCII) structures. The most recent of these structures, obtained by using TCR-Ob.1A12 from a multiple sclerosis patient and the MBP8...

The rupture forces and adhesion frequencies of single recognition complexes between an affinity selected peptide/MHC complex and a TCR at a murine hybridoma surface were measured using Atomic Force Microscopy. When the CD8 coreceptor is absent, the adhesion frequency depends on the nature of the peptide but the rupture force does not. When CD8 is present, no effect of the nature of the peptide ...

Heterogeneities in immune responsiveness may affect key epidemiological parameters and the dynamics of pathogens. The roles of immunogenetics in these variations remain poorly explored. We analysed the influence of Major histocompatibility complex (Mhc) genes and epigamic traits on the response to phytohaemagglutinin in males from cyclic populations of the montane water vole (Arvicola scherman)...

Invariant chain (Ii) binds to MHC class II (MHCII) to assemble a nonamer in the endoplasmic reticulum. Major histocompatibility complex class II-associated Ii peptide (CLIP) that occupies the peptide binding groove of MHCII prevents MHCII molecules from loading with endogenous antigens. We used the green or red fluorescent protein-fused Ii or MHCII subunits to detect the intracellular localizat...

Variation in the mechanisms that mediate antigen processing, MHC-loading, and presentation of peptides allows cells to significantly modulate the repertoire of peptides presented by both MHC class I or class II. To more quickly determine how these different modes or modulations of presentation translate into altered immune responses, higher throughput methods for identifying T cell epitopes are...